Dr. Weber, Biochemistry & Biophysics

Dr. Annemarie Weber, professor emerita of biochemistry and biophysics, died July
5, 2012, at the age of 88. "She was a pioneering scientist and dedicated teacher who
will be missed greatly," said Dr. Mark Lemmon, professor and chair of
biochemistry/biophysics.

After completing her MD and DM degrees at the University of Tubingen in Germany
in 1950, she received a Rockefeller postdoctoral fellowship to continue her
training in biophysics at University College, London and in physical chemistry
at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Weber accepted a position in neurology at Columbia University College of
Physicians and Surgeons and was subsequently named professor of biochemistry at
St. Louis University Medical School. In 1972 Dr. Weber was recruited to the
School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania as professor of
biochemistry.

"Annemarie's scientific accomplishments were outstanding. In 1959 she
established the first direct and complete evidence that calcium ions act as
intracellular messengers. She also demonstrated that the sarcoplasmic reticulum
of muscle is capable of lowering cytoplasmic calcium concentrations to levels
consistent with muscle relaxation by virtue of its pumping activity. Annemarie
played a pivotal role in establishing the overall principles of calcium action:
the ion is maintained at very low free concentration in the cytoplasm, and a
very minor rise in its concentration acts as the message to switch on either the
contractile apparatus or other cellular activities. She played a central role in
establishing that calcium, like cAMP, functions as a second messenger,"
explained Dr. Lemmon.

She was elected to the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina; the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences; the American Association for the
Advancement of Science and was a fellow by the Biophysical Society.

In 1985 she received the Berwick Award for her outstanding educational
contributions. In 1998 she became emerita, but continued her mission - to teach
medical students - and received the Provost's Award for Distinguished Teaching in
2001. "She stood as an example of what it means to be an academic. Students
repeatedly remarked on her sense of humor, her lively lectures, her
dedication - and recognized her as a truly exceptional teacher." To quote one of
her students: "She is extraordinarily successful at clarifying difficult
concepts, integrating clinical correlations, and providing a big picture of
biochemistry that facilitates active learning." In recognition of her
extraordinary commitment to educating the next generation of physicians, she was
presented on several occasions by the first year class with the "Outstanding
Lecturer Award." "As a teacher and mentor she stood head and shoulders above the
crowd; she raised the bar and transformed education at Penn Med. She was more
than just a teacher in this school—she was an institution. In addition to her
important scientific contributions, her legacy lives on with the multitude of
Penn medical students who benefited from her teaching and generous mentoring,"
Dr. Lemmon added.